


Untitled

by phrenitis



Category: E.R.
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-01-03
Updated: 2007-01-03
Packaged: 2017-10-14 22:13:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 676
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/154031
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phrenitis/pseuds/phrenitis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He finds her in a meeting, in another city, in another life, and it scares him how little some things change.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Untitled

He finds her in a meeting, in another city, in another life, and it scares him how little some things change.

She’s in profile, but he needs no more than a first glance to recognize her and his chest grows tight. He stands in the doorway, half in, half out, wonders about all the things they used to say and what words he eventually left her with. He had regret, he had a lot of things for a while, but he’s gotten better at forgiving the past.

He makes his choice and walks in, doesn’t hesitate until he’s standing in the aisle next to her and the closeness makes him weak.

She looks up as he sits beside her, and her intake of breath is audible. “John.”

“Hi Abby,” he says, has the urge to shrug helplessly because what are the odds? He struggles suddenly for words, lost in the fate of it all, in the way she’ll always look beautiful and broken. “I don’t really know what to say.”

“It’s been a long time.” Her voice is soft and warm. She shakes her head in disbelief, smiles in the way that makes him hurt. “How are you? Are you living here?”

He nods. “Yeah, I’m working at the Children’s Hospital.”

It occurs to him how circular his life has become as a doctor. She associates him with Africa, and he hasn’t thought about that time in years.

“I’m… good,” he says, runs a hand through his hair. “I’m better.”

She really looks at him then, searches his face with a little crinkle in her brow. Over time he eventually stopped thinking about her completely, but that frown, that look – that was the last thing to go.

“How about you?” he asks. “Where are you working?”

She shrugs at the question, already dismissing the positive. “I’m an attending over at St. Luke’s.”

“That’s great, Abby.” He wants to touch her arm to let her know he means it, but isn’t sure where he’d go from there.

She smiles. “Thanks.”

He realizes he is staring and lets his gaze drift to the front of the room, listens to the steps and confessions he’s heard a thousand times. He slipped once, swallowed a pill and was surprised when it went down bitter and hard.

Abby shifts beside him. “I have a son.”

His heart is loud and he thinks about how he almost married her, almost started a life with her. “What’s his name?”

“Joe,” she says, and her eyes lighten at something he doesn’t catch. “Joseph.”

He nods slowly, sees her empty ring finger; he used to be much better at dealing with the unexpected. Her smile is soft in understanding.

“It’s been a long time,” she says again, but this time she means something different. She touches his leg, an apology in the light pressure though she says nothing. He knows everyone has always been good at letting her go.

The meeting drags on, longer and longer until finally Abby moves and grabs her coat. She hesitates before she stands, looks over at him. “I have to go.”

“Joseph?” he guesses.

“It’s almost his bedtime.”

He thinks about offering her a ride or giving her his phone number, all the little insanities that used to keep him preoccupied for months. In the end, he ignores it all and smiles. “It was good to see you, Abby.”

“Yeah,” she says. “You too.”

Her coat is a deep blue and he watches as she shrugs into it, hair loose and falling in front of her face. She’s a brunette again and the color suits her.

“I’ll see you around, Carter.” She pauses next to the chair, smiles goodbye.

And he says it without thinking. “Do you know Tops Coffee on Market?”

He continues before she asks questions, everything between them always in the timing.

“Great breakfasts,” he explains. “I’m there a lot.”

She puts her hands in her pockets, gives a little half-shrug that he knows means more than how it looks. “Okay.”

He nods, grins. “Okay."

 _-Fin_


End file.
